Responsibility (2)

From a good acquaintance I received a response to my previous weblog. He begins like this:

Your latest contribution about responsibility is, as far as I am concerned, disappointing. Crucial passages of Scripture are not mentioned. You rightly note that the word as such does not occur in Scripture, but that does not automatically mean that the concept as such would be un-Biblical.

In this latter point there is undoubtedly a kernel of truth. Yet when we devote ourselves to the use of “sound words,” we will beforehand be suspicious of extra-Biblical words and concepts. It is worth pondering when we assign great Biblical value to a word, while the Bible itself does not even know the word… The letter writer continues:

“Responsibility” is a perfectly defined concept in Dutch, and to that definition a large number of Biblical data fit. Responsibility = the obligation to give account.

If this were the only meaning of “responsibility,” I would have no problem with the use of the word. In that case the meaning would namely be identical to the word “account.”

“…and there is not a creature unapparent before Him, but all things [are] naked and open to His eyes — with whom is our reckoning.” (YLT)
Hebrews 4:13

As certain as it is that God is not obliged to give account, so certain it is that man does have this obligation. The point, however, is that “responsibility” has yet another meaning, and that leads to an opposite conclusion. In the Koenen dictionary we also find under “responsibility” the following definition: to personally ensure the good outcome of something.

Who personally ensures the good outcome of things? Is that man? No, on the contrary, I would say. Man rather ensures the bad outcome! There is only One who personally ensures the good outcome of everything, and that is God Himself. That is why man is called upon to cast his cares upon Him who is able to bear them. He also guarantees the good outcome. In that sense God is thus responsible. The letter writer continues:

We then see that man in general is judged before the great white throne. He is judged there according to his works. In short: he must give account for his deeds, and insofar as there was fault in his deeds, there is difference in degree of punishment. Whoever has done greater sins receives heavier punishment. The Bible is crystal clear about this (Sodom / Capernaum, etc.).

The believer must give account for both his good and his bad deeds before the “judgment seat of Christ.” The believer receives no punishment, but reward. Here too there is “measure.” Whoever has done better receives greater reward. Paul calls to be zealous in good works, with a view to the reward.

In short: the giving of account is a central concept in the Bible. It is crystal clear each time that the nature of man’s deeds has CONSEQUENCES. That means nothing less than that man is responsible.

Scripture indeed speaks in clear terms about judgment, punishment, and reward. The deeds of man have consequences. Man owes account to his Creator. “What a man may sow — that also he shall reap.” All this Scripture teaches. But nowhere is this connected to an ambiguous concept such as “responsibility.”

Summarized:
If “responsibility” means: the obligation to give account, then man is absolutely “responsible.” If, however, we define the word as: personally ensuring the good outcome of something, then the word fits first and foremost the Creator Himself.
In short: “responsibility” is a word not found in Scripture, ambiguous in meaning, and therefore above all obstructive in our expression of the truth of Scripture.

Delen: